


The Elements

by softboimp



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/M, Sarcasm
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-23
Updated: 2018-07-20
Packaged: 2018-11-04 03:05:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10982043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/softboimp/pseuds/softboimp
Summary: The Avengers thought the strangest thing that could happen to them was Loki joining their team, however, they were proven wrong when they were confronted by new enhanced in the field, who possessed a very powerful gift.





	1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

Set up at the beginning of AOU.

Disclaimer: No, I unfortunately do not own anything MARVEL…but rest assured, I would never pass up such an opportunity.

It all started out normally, or as normal as being an Avenger got. The team had undergone many changes since the battle of New York. While they were not the perfect group, they had become much more cohesive while living under one roof. And with the reappearance of Loki, of course. No one had been more surprised than the Avengers when Loki suddenly appeared in their midst. Everyone’s first thought was to leap upon the one who had caused so much trouble, however Thor had appeared shortly after and explained that Loki had been banished from Asgard. He had been sent to Midgard to atone for his sins and help rebuild the city he had damaged. For the first few months, life in the Avengers tower was tense. Loki was moody and refused to talk to anyone. And no one but Thor was trying to become his friend, but one day, as everyone gathered for breakfast, there was suddenly no tension. Steve was flipping blueberry pancakes, Tony was humming something under his breath as he waiting for his coffee to finish brewing. Clint and Natasha sat at the island in the middle of the spacious kitchen, sipping orange juice and snickering at some joke known only to them, Bruce was reading a newspaper, and Thor was staring at the toaster, trying to figure out kind of magic it ran on. And then, Loki entered the kitchen, wearing a loose tunic and tight pants, his hair still rumpled and eyes still red from sleeping. And nothing happened. No one tensed up, left the room, or even stared at him, like they were waiting for him to pounce. Tony passed him, placing a cup of steaming hot coffee in his hands as he made his way over to Clint and Tash. 

That was the beginning of the healing process for the Avengers. Now, almost a year later, Loki was a full member of the Avengers. Everyone admitted that having Loki on their side was a huge advantage to any situation, especially the one they were currently in. The Avengers had been called in when SHIELD had found another Hydra base and now they were in a snow-filled forest, trying to break into the Hydra fortress that was apparently shielded, according to Tony as he bounced off of the invisible barrier, swearing as he did so. “Shit!” Tony exclaimed loudly.

Which was followed, inevitably by Steve, who chastised him, “Language.”

The team worked as one, killing enemy soldiers quickly and efficiently as they made their way towards the base. It was just as Tony destroyed the barrier surrounding the building when they all heard it. 

“Um…guys, it may just be me but I’m hearing GDRF by Flo Rida in my head, and I most definitely was not thinking about that song just a moment ago,” Tony said. 

“Oh, is that what that awful noise is?” exclaimed Thor.

“I’m trying to focus on killing people, who’s doing it? Is it you, Loki, because it’s not funny,” Natasha griped. 

Loki’s smooth chuckle broke out over the earpieces. “Tis not me, Lady Natasha, but whoever it is, I do admire their style.”

“Now Reindeer Games, what are you even talking abo-“ Tony was cut off when he spotted a miniature tornado heading towards the rest of the Avengers. “Uh guys, you might want to watch out. Looks like something is coming your way.”

Natasha was the first to notice the storm, immediately going on the defense. “Clint, I see it, what can you make of it?”

Clint stared hard, making out a figure in the eye of the tornado. Whipping out an arrow, he fired it, disappointed when the arrow was caught by the furious wind and missed the hazy figure by inches. All of a sudden, the storm stopped, and the air cleared. 

“Alright, we have an enhanced in the field, I repeat, we have an enhanced in the field. It seems as though she created the storm,” Natasha warned the others. Clint and Natasha slowly circled the young woman who stood as still as a stone. She was tall and thin; skin as pale as the snow she stood on, but her hair was her most notable feature, for it was a dark shade of red, which faded to a pale pink near the ends. She grinned at the two assassins before springing into action, her limbs moving with strange, fluid grace. For a second nothing happened, then the ground beneath their feet trembled and started to collapse. Clint jumped out of his spot, quick as lightning, and but was knocked several feet back by a sudden gust of wind. He tried shooting an arrow at the woman but a wall of ice and snow suddenly appeared in front of her, shielding her for but a moment before it collapsed. Spreading her arms out wide, the unknown woman sent a wall of flame outwards that almost consumed the Black Widow before Clint pulled her roughly against him while turning, feeling his back sear with pain as flame passed much to close for comfort.

“We need immediate assistance,” he barked, while trying to avoid the woman’s next attack. 

“I just got the scepter, and it looks like everyone is converging upon your position,” Tony replied, his voice triumphant.

“There is another enhanced in the field. It looks like he has some kind of super speed,” Captain America warned.

Loki’s voice came through over everyone else’s, “Cease your useless chatter. It is clear that these enhanced creatures are merely seeking to cause a diversion and nothing else. I shall deal with the woman myself. Everyone else, please regroup at my location, and Stark, make sure you have everything you need before you completely destroy that base.”

Everyone was quick to obey Loki’s wise commands and in seconds, the enhanced woman was completely surrounded. The base exploded in a mushroom of fire and smoke behind them and Iron Man came speeding over, hovering over the small group.

Loki stepped out of the forest, into the woman’s line of sight and said, tauntingly, “If you were really trying to protect and defend that Hydra base, you certainly did a poor job.”

The woman spoke in a heavy accent, her sarcasm matching Loki’s word for word. “And if you thought I was trying, you are just as mistaken.” The song that had been playing in the back of everyone’s heads suddenly came to the forefront, roaring through the Avenger’s minds as it came to its final chorus. Loki just cocked his head as his teammates clutched their heads, trying to relieve the pain.

“That is a neat trick, but it will take more than projecting songs into our heads to defeat us.”

The woman smirked at him, “I don’t want to defeat you, I want to make you kneel.” 

Loki’s eyes narrowed, and he decided there was no need for anymore talking. He raised his hands, sending a flash of green light her way, but she dodged it, and retaliated by gracefully throwing her arms outward and Loki dissolved the ice shards hurled at his head. Back and forth the battle raged, the woman holding her own against the Avengers. Her movements were coordinated with song still raging within their heads as she made the Hulk sink neck-deep into the earth, froze Hawk Eye while he was notching another arrow, and sent Iron Man and Thor spinning away through the air when she made yet another tornado out of the wind. 

When it was just the two of them once more, she grinned at Loki, “It is time for me to leave, but we shall see each other once again, never fear.” 

Loki shot yet another bolt of energy at her, but she deflected, her concentration slightly broken, enough for Black Widow to fire both of her guns at once, saying, “There won’t be another time, bitch.” 

The woman spun around but it was too late. The bullets caught her in the shoulder and side, jerking her back each time they hit. Desperate to escape, the woman summoned the wind behind her as she ran, clutching her wounds, with Loki and Natasha hard on her heels. 

“Thor, Tony, cut her off, Widow and I are right behind her,” Loki said, summoning more energy to run even faster, trying to keep up with her. He sent out a magic projection of himself to appear right in front of her, which made her veer sharply to the right, straight into the path of another one of Natasha’s bullets, which lodged itself in her right thigh. Staggering, the woman tried to continue her dash but to no avail. When Thor and Tony landed right in front of her, with Loki and Widow right behind, she hesitantly clasped her hands in back of her head. 

Loki stalked towards her and snarled, “Kneel.”

Instead of acknowledging defeat, the woman looked bored, as she drew one hand from behind her head and punched Loki hard in the nose. Surprised, he rocked back on his feet, and Tony shot two beams of energy at her. She flew through the air, and was stopped by a tall pine. 

Gathering around the mysterious woman’s unconscious form, Tony flipped his visor up, a look of disgust on his face. “Look how young she is, barely twenty from the look of it, yet she can do all of this. Almost brought our team down. What are we supposed to do with her?”

Natasha stepped forward, but Tony shook a finger at her, “No, we’re not going to kill her Ms. Assassin. Any other bright ideas?”

“We could take her with us, try to get any information she might have about the rest of Hydra’s secret bases and laboratories,” Thor offered. 

Tony raised an eyebrow and looked at Loki.

Rolling his eyes, he adopted a look of boredom. “Do what you must with her, I have no qualms either way.”

“Nice to know you have such a strong opinion on this, Reindeer Games, would you mind restraining her and unfreezing Clint while you’re at it?” Tony requested.

“Where would you mortals be without me?”

Tony smirked, “Probably leading much simpler lives, now off you go.”


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: And no, as of yet, I have not managed to own MARVEL yet…

Loki sat opposite the woman they had captured. They had limited space on the quinjet so he had simply placed her in a chair and chained her wrists and ankles, weaving many energy-binding spells around her to make sure she was completely powerless. He studied her as she slept, noting her sharp features and the crease in her brow as she fought off whatever phantoms that presented themselves into her thoughts. She started twitching and he alerted his companions, “It would seem as though our captive is awakening.”

Steve and Thor walked over, just in time to see the woman’s eyes flutter open slowly. “Woah…” she mumbled, her head flopping back to hit the headrest of the chair she was tied too. 

“That would be the sedative I shot you up with. Special dose, made it myself,” Tony Stark called from his seat. 

The girl raised an eyebrow, slightly slurring her words, “Thas some pretty strong sstuff there…” 

Loki stood, sauntering up to her and asked in an intimidating tone, “What is your name, your abilities, and your mission?”

The woman smiled disarmingly, “You seemed like the kind to skip the bullshit and get…straight down to business.” She grew paler and looked down at the floor, breathing heavily through her nose.

“Well you can either tell me now, or tell me after I’m done torturing you.”

The woman laughed in his face, a little blood staining her teeth and lips dark red. “I have three bullets in me and a mess of broken bones from getting thrown into a tree trunk. I think we already skipped the torturing part of that statement.”

Steve assessed her critically, running his hands down her arms, ribs, and legs, and then looked back up to Loki, nodding, “I’m afraid she’s right. If we don’t patch her up then she could easily die between here and the Avengers tower. Which would kind of defeat the purpose of not killing her back in the forest.”

“Everyone, hold on to your seat because the world might implode because Capsicle just effectively used sarcasm,” Tony grinned.

-

The rest of the airplane ride was spent in relative silence. The woman concentrated on her breathing. She was already injured enough and she wasn’t about to tell her enemies that she was terrified of heights. The pain of her wounds was not forefront in her mind, thanks to Tony Stark’s miracle sedative, which she hoped was safe for her enhanced system and wouldn’t eventually kill her. While the Avengers relaxed in her sedated and retrained presence, she took the time to study them. They were nothing like what she had imagined. The twins had told her of their intense hate of the man Tony Stark, but so far he had only managed to be extremely narcissistic and sarcastic, not the cold-blooded killer they had made him out to be. The rest seemed a bit odd and held their own quirks, but somehow they made a cohesive team. 

She thought back to the long years she had been in Hydra. Most of the time she had spent under the influence of one drug or another so she couldn’t use her abilities against the staff. Hydra knew the moment they found her that she could wipe them out very easily, so they decided to hold her prisoner until they could break her and mold her into the perfect Hydra soldier. They had already succeeded with the Winter Soldier, until they sent him on a mission to kill Steve Rogers, of course. During the fall of shield, Barnes had remembered enough of his past to save Rogers from drowning.

After the exposure of Hydra, the Avengers had steadily been attacking Hydra’s many bases, trying to put an end to it once and for all. Hydra had redoubled their efforts on the woman, trying harder and harder to break her, but it was fruitless, for most of their machines wouldn’t work on her because of her different DNA. 

She was interrupted from her thoughts by Loki snapping his fingers in front of her face. She glanced up at him, his emerald eyes open to hers before they hardened. “Get up, we’re going to be landing soon and you need to get ready.”

She rolled her eyes, “I’m drugged. And tied to a fucking chair. How am I supposed to get up?”

“Yah Loki, how is she supposed to get up?” Tony mimicked.

“Shut up, Stark, and fly the damn plane.” He snapped his fingers and the ropes binding her to the chair disappeared. The only binding left was the manacles on her wrists in front of her. Grabbing her arm, Loki hauled her roughly upwards. The sudden movement made her head pound, bringing her pain foreword abruptly. She winced and swayed but otherwise didn’t comment on the rough handling. Steve shot a glance at Loki, the question clear in his eyes.

“She’s a prisoner, I don’t have to be nice to her,” he answered.

-

The quinjet settled onto its landing platform and a couple of medics ran onto the ramp with a stretcher for Hawkeye who had been badly wounded. Loki tugged her along after them, acknowledging the fact that she had to be treated as well. She followed obediently, knowing Loki was purposely walking faster so she would have to slightly run after him and jostle her already burning wounds. 

She soon found herself sitting on a table next to Clint who seemed to be in some sort of healing cradle. The nurse was gently inspecting her and pulled her shirt up, inspecting the bullet wound in her side, then her shoulder, and finally, the one in her leg. After probing at the gash on her skull, she turned to clustered group of Avengers around Clint and spoke indignantly, “Really, I thought I taught you all enough basic medical skills so that you could at least remove bullets and patch her up a bit. The only thing you guys tried, and failed to do, was stop the bleeding.” 

Steve and Thor had the decency to look slightly crestfallen at the scolding, but Tony just winked at her, and Loki just sullenly sat there and glared. It was Natasha who actually spoke, “You’re right, we probably should have done more, but she really knocked us around with those special powers of hers. We weren’t feeling very kind right after it happened, if you get our drift…”

The nurse just huffed and turned back to the woman and spoke kindly, “You must be in terrible pain. Can you tell me your name?”

The woman cocked her head, gazing at her interestingly, before saying, “Alice.”

Tony snorted in the corner, “Alice? I thought you would be called something like ‘The Oncoming Storm.’” 

Alice didn’t comment on the sarcasm, just stared at the nurse as she got out a bottle of pills. “Here you are, some pills for the pain.”

Alice shook her head, “They won’t work on me,” she said tonelessly. “Besides, I’m still sedated with whatever Tony shot me up with so it doesn’t matter anyway.”

“Alright…well maybe you want to be in a more private room because I will have to undress you to stitch up your wounds.”

Tony pushed himself off of the wall, “That wouldn’t be such a great idea. This fellow here is going to have to stay in our sight at all times to make sure that   
sedative doesn’t wear off, because once it does, she can do a hell of a lot of damage.”

The nurse narrowed her eyes at him, then glanced at her patient, who was expressionless. 

“It doesn’t matter. Just patch me up.”

While the Avengers talked softly among themselves, Alice slipped out of her shirt and pants, laying down on the table while the nurse went to work. There were slight gasps from the group behind her as everyone saw the scars she bore from the intense torture she had undergone for years. She breathed steadily, in and out of her open mouth, while the nurse dug around inside of the wounds to pull out the imbedded bullets. Sweat appeared on her brow and her knuckles clenched, but it was the only outward expression of pain that appeared. She didn’t feel embarrassed by her almost naked body because of the fact that this was normally her attire while she had been tortured at Hydra. Still, she saw some of the subtle glances the Avengers shot at her when they thought she wasn’t looking.

Finally the nurse had finished and gave her a pair of black shorts and a white shirt. Alice sat up slowly, relishing the feeling of her wounds being taken care of properly. Before she was led anywhere, however, Tony came forward with a syringe in his hand. Alice stared at him hard as he took on of her arms and gently slid the needle into her vein. She let out a breath and looked away, trying not to think about how much this treatment reminded her exactly of Hydra. She was hoping this place would be slightly better than Hydra, but maybe she was mistaken.

The heaviness of the drug settled onto her senses again, and along with it brought a feeling of utter helplessness, which caused her to slightly panic, her breath quickening as she tried to control it. 

“Hey guys, lets show our new companion her new home, and then we can come back to our little hawk’s bedside to watch him do boring things like resting,” Tony led the little group to the elevator, Alice situated in the middle, her arms held on either side by Thor and Loki. Far from keeping her from running away, they were actually holding her up, for Alice was reacting to the drug far more than she had the first time. The elevator opened and there was a very large, empty space. There was nothing in it except for a very large glass cage.

“This is our hulk tank. Very effective for keeping powerful things from doing bad deeds…no offense Bruce.” 

Bruce just waved his hand in Tony’s direction as if he was used to it. “None taken.”

“Jarvis, open the door please?” Tony asked.

“Of course, sir,” the voice answered, making Alice’s eyebrows rise slightly. Thor and Loki walked her over to the cage, but she shook them off before they could walk her into it. She had some dignity left. Maybe. Alice calmly walked into the pristine glass cage. She immediately felt panic at being in an enclosed space, but held it under the surface, keeping her face blank. Turning around, she faced the Avengers.

“I’m here, don’t I get a magazine or something?” 

Tony scoffed, but grinned at her, “I’m beginning to like her, you know. Somehow reminds me of myself,” he clutched his heart, faking intense emotion. Then walked up to the glass, wagging a finger at her, “Just so you know, darling, no funny business while you’re here. Jarvis is going to see every move you make and report back to me, so be good.”

And with that, the Avengers left. And Alice was finally alone. In a glass container, in an empty white room. Sighing, she slumped against a wall, eyes drooping. She was so tired. That dose of sedative seemed to be even stronger than the last. It was starting to make her stomach twinge, and she wondered if that was bad, but it didn’t really matter anymore, because she was so tired…


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: No ownership of the great MARVEL factory yet, unfortunately.

It seemed like it was mere moments later when Alice received a shock that sent her spinning into reality. The scene in front of her was confusing, for she was no longer in her glass cage, but rather in a workshop, lying on top of a stainless steel workbench. Loki stood over her on one side, looking rather relieved, while Tony stood on the other, paddles in hand. 

“…you bloody fuck, watch what you’re actually doing next time!” Loki finished berating Tony, who stood there with the paddles he had used to restart Alice’s heart. Bruce pushed forward, moving Loki to the side to inspect her.

Placing his hand on her forehead he asked, “How do you feel?”

Alice thought about it. “My…uh, chest feels like someone…may have hit me with a sledgehammer…” She raised a hand, massaging the left side of her chest.

Tony had the decency to look slightly crestfallen. “I’m afraid that the last dose of sedative was a little, um, how do I say this…strong? Perhaps so strong that it made you go into a coma and your heart stopped…”

Alice raised an eyebrow at him, “Well I hope next time you are a little smarter about sedating your prisoners.” While Bruce, Loki, and Tony argued amongst themselves, Alice surveyed her environment. This workshop was definitely Tony’s, like the rest of the building was. Iron Man suits lined the walls, robots whizzed about, trying to clean up the mess, which cluttered everything. Large holographic screens hovered in the middle of the room, gently rotating in invisible wind. 

Alice suddenly realized that her mind felt different, for it was free of the heavy weight of the drug. She could actually breath freely once again. Carefully, Alice flexed the fingers of her right hand. She felt the air respond instantly to her touch. She navigated herself towards the edge of the bed opposite the three arguing men. When they finally noticed what she was doing, it was too late to stop her. 

Loki lunged at the fleeing prisoner, his hand grasping her forearm for but a moment before a wall of air blocked him, forcing him to release her. She ran for the glass door, frantically trying to open it, but finding it locked. Spinning back around, she was met a fully suited Iron Man. Not wanting to set fire to his workshop, she merely ducked his attacks, and used the air to her advantage. Loki came from behind her, trying to catch her in a spell, but she evaded his attempts, lashing out at him, stepping back…into a headlock. She struggled, trying to find out who held her. It was the real Loki. The fake one sizzled into nonexistence in front of her. She struggled, trying to break his iron grip and Loki grunted as she kicked back into him. 

“Stark! What the bloody hell are you doing?” he yelled, trying to contain her.

“I am ‘bloody’ trying to not let Bruce hulk out you fucking idiot!” Stark yelled back, still managing to be sarcastic about Loki’s English accent.

Alice decided that being free was more important than not setting fire to Stark’s precious workshop and her eyes grew red as she called upon fire. It rushed through the room with a roar, and while it was more for show than actual damage, it seemed to do the trick. There a ripping sound, a series of angry cursing from Iron Man, and then the loudest roar she had ever heard shook the very foundations of the building. Loki had released her already on account of the flames and now backed even further away from her as the fully formed Hulk stood, his eyes boring into her. 

“Oh…” Alice managed to mutter. 

“Yes,” Loki whispered, “Quite right.”

She glanced over at him, “You should really give me a hand with…this. This is very definitely a team effort.”

Loki smirked at her, “Yah and maybe after this I’ll give you a hand with some other things as well.”

Alice snickered as she turned back to her current problem, “Well that’s good, because it seems as if my new place is a bit dull. I could use a little excitement once in a while.”

The Hulk roared again, and Alice heard her ears pop. She raised her arms in a ready stance, her legs automatically shifting into place.

“Baby, I’m not just a little excitement,” Loki called out to her, and then came to stand next to her, if not just slightly behind her. “You’ll remember me for months,” he whispered into her ear.

Iron Man flew over at that moment and hovered on the other side of Alice, “Ew, gross, stop flirting, we have a slightly bigger problem here, at the moment.”

“Well, I have a plan, and it mostly involves not dying, so listen here.”

-

 

It was just a normal day in New York. People did what they always did at this hour in the afternoon. It was perfectly normal. It was. Until the perfectly normal afternoon was shattered by a woman flying out of the Avengers tower, bits of glass followed her flight, and then the Hulk came right out after her. He clung to the building, trying to follow her. He soon had his opportunity when she dove back into the Avenger building at another level. That level happened to be the floor that held the Hulk tank. 

Tony waited, ready to shut the Hulk up, just as soon as Alice came in. The rest of the Avengers waited behind him, shifting from foot to foot, anxious for the showdown to commence. They didn’t have to wait long. 

Alice was hovering in mid-air in the middle of New York City. It was a wonderful feeling of freedom, and she was tempted to just leave and let the Avengers deal with the Hulk themselves. But no, then she was just be hunted down and she would have to live with looking over her shoulder for the rest of her life. She looked up sharply as the Hulk emerged from the window she had smashed. She laughed in his face, then called upon fire, letting it speed her way towards a specific window she had chosen earlier. Alice closed her eyes, knowing the impact would hurt her much more than the Hulk. Sending the ball of fire at the window right before she crashed into it, she felt it slightly weaken and then her shoulder struck the hard glass, crushing the bone effectively, but destroying the window in the process. The Avengers stood waiting for her, and she struggled up off the floor, right as the Hulk smashed in behind her. 

“I got it!” she shouted as they started to rush towards her. “No seriously, get the fuck out of the way!” They heeded her words when her eyes turned red. Alice flexed her limbs then moved her arms, controlling the fire that appeared around her with her movements. Levitating slightly, she let the fire flicker around her form, creating a flare for the Hulk to follow. He lunged at her wildly and she ducked out of the way, sending her flames towards him, and he howled as they caught his side. Whirling, he charged towards her, and she ran towards the cage, thankful that the door was already open. Rushing inside, she looked behind her, making sure the Hulk was following. He most certainly was, of course. He crashed into one of the sides of the walls, making the entire cage rock slightly under the force. Alice ducked under his wildly flailing arms and ran towards the cage door, but found it already closed. She smashed her fists against it, sending flares of agony to her injured shoulder, but it didn’t open. 

“Stark! Stark, open the goddamned door! Stark!” she spotted Tony looking at her, slightly guilty, while Captain America had a hand on the controls and the other on Stark’s shoulder. So that was it, Steve didn’t trust her, and it was far better for her to be stuck in a cage with the Hulk than a danger out in the building. At least Loki and Clint looked angry about her current situation. There was a heavy footstep behind her, and then another. Alice froze, then carefully turned to face the insane eyes of the Hulk. He roared at her, and then charged her still form. Alice shook herself from her daze and tried to sidestep him, but she didn’t have enough room and he easily backslapped her across the entire cage to smash against the opposite wall. There was only one choice to ensure her survival from the Hulk. Dragging herself up, Alice sent a fierce wind in the Hulk’s direction to give her a little time. She locked eyes with Steve through the glass wall that separated her from him. Then she grinned at him and raised her middle finger in his direction, before taking a deep breath and completely freezing herself in a block of ice, middle finger still firmly pointed upwards.


	4. Hope

Disclaimer: Whatever, I don’t own MARVEL…it doesn’t bother me at all…not even a little bit…OF COURSE IT AFFECTS MY SOUL! IT HAS A VERY DEEP TEAR! Anyhow, on with the story…

The Hulk raged for a long time afterwards, furious that he could not break free from his cage. Try as he might, though, he was never able to smash the ice statue in his cage. A couple hours later, the Hulk had calmed down enough for him to shrink back down into Bruce, and the Avengers were able to retrieve him from the cage. Loki and Tony stayed, wanting to make sure Alice was okay after unfreezing herself. They waited for a while, standing around awkwardly, neither of them very great friends with each other. All of a sudden, Tony snorted and shook his head.

“What?” Loki asked.

Tony continued to chuckle, “I was just imagining tonight with Pepper, when she asks me how my day was…what am I supposed to tell her? Bruce turned into the Hulk and our mysterious and enhanced prisoner saved our asses, then turned herself into a popsicle.” There was a pregnant pause in the conversation as the statement sank in, before Loki started laughing as well. 

“I guess we can’t complain that the job is boring,” Loki grinned. “So how are things with Pepper, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Tony raised his eyebrows, “You’re actually interested?”

Loki rolled his eyes, “I wouldn’t have asked if I wasn’t, you know that Stark.”

“Well, I don’t want to get too mushy on you, but honestly its great. She’s great, the sex is great, her little—“

Loki interrupted, his hands raised in the air, “I don’t need to hear about your sex life Stark.”

“Oh! Sorry, just slipped out. I keep forgetting how shy you get about such matters.”

“I can assure you that there is nothing farther from the truth,” Loki smirked. The two sat in companionable silence, until Loki had finally had enough. “Look at her in there! I’ll admit that Steve was wrong when he locked her in there. It was a dick move, but come on, she needs to unfreeze herself soon, and it can’t be too comfortable being slowly frozen to death.” 

Stark looked surprised, “She’s actually freezing herself to death?”

“Well it doesn’t happen at once, but only frost giants can survive such low temperatures indefinitely.”

“Do you think…you could unfreeze her? Maybe she’s having trouble doing it herself or something.”

Loki sighed, “It always seems like I’m saving people, especially from themselves.” He walked over to the cage and activated the sliding glass door, it opened with a slight hiss and without hesitation Loki walked into the room. The sudden drop in temperature did nothing to make him uncomfortable in the slightest. He walked over to Alice’s frozen form to stand in front of her. Alice’s face had taken a far away look, like she was lost in old memories. Her eyes were glazed and didn’t move to recognize him as he neared. Taking a deep breath, Loki placed his hands on her cheeks, willing the ice to break. It started with the smallest crack, which spread gradually over the entire statue. All of a sudden, the ice fell off of her body with a crash and Loki caught her before she could face plant on the floor. 

Tony rushed in the cage with a blanket, and helped wrap it around Alice’s freezing body. “Is she alright?”

Loki just shrugged as he held Alice in his arms. 

“Oh…no…I think my…finger may be stuck like…this…” Alice stuttered out between her chattering teeth. Her middle finger slowly rose into the air and Loki huffed a laugh.

“I think she’ll be okay.”

Tony shifted on his feet, looking awkward once more, “Do you think it would be okay to let her out, or are we supposed to keep her in here?”

“Well we can’t really unfreeze her properly in here,” Loki said. 

“I…second the motion. Also, my shoulder…is fucked,” Alice added. 

Tony nodded to himself and grinned at the two, “Right this way, ladies and gentlemen.” He led the way out, and started walking towards the part of his workshop that was devoted solely to tending serious wounds. Which he happened to use constantly. 

\--

It was roughly a week later when Alice fully awoke and was aware of her surroundings. She possessed an advanced healing ability, but with all the damage her body had taken on, it had decided that Alice should shut down. She briefly remembered snippets of Tony and Bruce fixing her shattered bones. Loki’s bright green eyes hovering in the corner of her vision. She couldn’t ever get a lock on him. He was compassionate, then he was cold. She couldn’t hear him because he walked as silently as a panther. He would just appear and then disappear. 

I wonder where I am now….

Well that’s stupid, anyone lying on a surface that hard has got to know that it’s a floor.

But…I really don’t want to be in that glass cage again. It’s boring. And white. And really enforced. 

You should have thought of that before getting fucking captured by the Avengers dumbass.

No need to treat me to such vulgarity. 

I just feel like you don’t really understand the situation. 

Oh, I understand it just fine. This imprisonment is driving me insane. I’m talking to myself in my head. That’s pretty insane. 

You talked to me before you were captured by the Avengers, remember?

Well of course, I meant all of the imprisonment, not just this little walk in the park. Now shut up. I’m going to open my eyes. View my surroundings. See what kind of fucking place I’m in now. 

You already know. You are just denying it. 

Shut up.

Alice opened her eyes. Unexpectedly, she was met with the hard white glare of the ceiling and floor and glass walls of her favorite cage. 

Fuck it.

Told you.

“FUCK!”

Did that make you feel better?

Not really.

What are you….sssshhhhh someone’s coming.

Alice pried her arm off of her eyes and squinted. All she could see from her low angle were a pair of very fashionable shoes. Leather. Expensive. Probably Loki. Maybe Stark. Except Stark would all ready be talking. Probably Loki.

“You’re finally awake. I thought you were a little more resilient to physical trauma, but apparently not.”

Definitely Loki.

He’s so hot.

….ssshhhhhhhh.

“Fuck off,” Alice growled at him. 

Loki merely chuckled and crouched down to her level. “How eloquent.” Alice didn’t respond, just laid there, her limbs splayed awkwardly. After a hefty silence, Loki pressed his fingers to the glass wall and whispered, “I’m sorry you’re stuck in here again.”

Instead of acknowledging his apology, Alice continued staring at the ceiling. “What happens now?”

“You stay here until the Avengers figure out what to do with you.”

Alice’s arm resumed its original position over her face. “Would it count at all if I promised not to harm anyone if they let me go?”

Loki sighed. “You already know that answer to that question.”

Alice bit her lip. She had that feeling again. The feeling of hopelessness. Maybe she would never get out of here. Just stay in a white glass cage for the rest of her short life. Never feel the sun on her skin. Or the wind. Or the rain for that matter. Her chest tightened and she wished she was still in her healing coma so she wouldn’t have to deal with this unpleasant realization. 

I can’t believe you even thought he was attractive. Loki doesn’t care if we stay in here forever and rot. 

Hey, he may be an asshole, but he’s a hot asshole. That’s all I’m saying. 

“You won’t be in here forever.”

Alice scoffed. “Oh please. You’re just a reformed super alien villain. No one is going to count your advice into a final verdict.”

Loki preened,” So you’ve heard of me.”

Alice ignored him. 

A couple of days passed with only minimal contact from the Avengers. She was fed once a day. Her body had completely recovered but she was still weighed down by the awful effects of Tony’s sedative in her system. Alice had taken to huddling along the farthest curved wall away from the entrance to the cage. Her fears of never leaving this place hadn’t let up and she was constantly finding it hard to breath. Alice felt so alone. There weren’t even screams of other prisoners to keep her company here. 

I need to get out of here.

No shit.

No, you don’t understand. I need to get out.

Well, I am you so I do kinda understand.

There were several footsteps echoing along the hallway. More Avengers coming to gloat at her? Probably. 

Maybe we should try to negotiate with them for some sort of freedom.

Not one of your brightest ideas. What if they force you into some sort prostitution? I mean, at this point, I wouldn’t put anything passed them. 

Shut up.

You don’t really mean that. I’m the only one keeping you company.

SHUT UP.

Alice pressed her hands to her head, trying to force the voice from it.

“Is she even listening to us?”

“I don’t think so.”

“She looks like she’s having a panic attack or something.”

“No shit.”

Voices filtered into Alice’s consciousness. She startled at the knocking on the glass right next to her head. Her body tensed and shot away from the wall like a spring, flipping to land in the center of her cage. Her eyes were wide and bloodshot, her hands trembling. Tony backed away from the wall, hands up.

“Woah, you need to chill out. Maybe get a massage to relieve your tension. Or workout some of the anger on something.”

Alice didn’t answer. She surveyed her guests. Tony, Loki, Thor, Widow, and Bruce all stood around the cage, dressed in formal clothes. Letting out a breath, Alice slumped cross-legged onto the floor, letting her head fall forward. “What do you want?”

“We wanted to let you know we hadn’t forgotten you down here. We’ve been trying to reach a consensus and that’s why you haven’t seen us a lot,” Bruce explained. 

“Okay.”

There was a tense silence. 

“Look kid…I know its killing you to be cooped up in here after you’ve probably been trapped within Hydra for a while. I understand. But you have to understand that you are a huge threat right now. We have seen you use your extensive abilities and we don’t know if you can even be integrated into society of if Hydra played around with your mind. There are too many variables in play for us to just let you go free,” Tony said.

“I get it.” 

Tony looked around at his friends, shrugging his shoulders. Loki met his stare and returned it boldly, saying, “Don’t look at me. I have nothing to offer in this situation.” 

Tony rolled his eyes. “Well everyone, good talk. We have a party to get too. See ya Alice.”

After they left, Alice laid back, listening to the sounds of the party upstairs. It sounded like quite an affair, with the deep thrumming of music, the quiet roar of many people talking at the same time, the clink of glasses. 

A distant crash interrupted her zen state of awareness. She cracked an eye open, then the other, her body immediately on alert. There was a scraping sound coming closer to her from the hallway. Alice rose, tensing her body in preparation for a fight. A disfigured robot appeared, animated by some sort of red light. It was crookedly smiling at her through its broken face. 

“Aahhhh….Ms. Alice…formerly known as a Hydra captive…now in the captivity of the…Avengers. What a dangerous record you have here. Sooooo many interesting abilities.”

Alice raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms. “What do you want?”

“Would you like to be free?”

Alice didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”

The half-dismantled robot dragged itself closer to the entrance of her cage. “I will free you, if you will fight for me.”

“Fight who?”

“The Avengers.”


	5. Chapter 5

“Where are you going to go?”

“Somewhere, anywhere, but here.” Alice stepped out of her cage. The broken robot had gone, probably to get dismantled by the Avengers. She ascended the stairs, avoiding parts of the ceiling that had fallen onto the floor. As she climbed, she passed a floor filled with debris and saw most of the Avengers recovering from what could only be an attack by the robot that had talked to her. She ran up the stairs, hurriedly trying to not be seen but she heard shouts behind her, meaning someone had spotted her. 

“Run, run, run, run.”

“I am. Now shut up.”

“Not fast enough…I thought you wanted to escape and not remain a prisoner your entire life.”

Alice tried to ignore the voice. She had to escape from here, and as quickly as possibly. She grabbed the stair rail, propelling herself forward onto the upper floors until she came to a gym of some sort. It was filled with equipment and-

“Ooh, look at all those lovely weapons. Grab the bow and arrows. You and Hawkeye can have an archery contest.”

Alice huffed in amusement, running over to the equipment and grabbing what was probably Hawkeye’s bow and arrows, along with two long knives. Looking around frantically for a window, Alice spotted at the end of the room three floor-to-ceiling windows. From the corner of her eye, she spotted Loki who had somehow appeared in the room. She backed away from him, eyes narrowed as she assessed him. 

Loki held his hands towards her, “Fear not, I’m not going to harm you.”

“Stay back, and I won’t have to harm you either.”

“Look, the Avengers were just trying to be cautious around you. We were eventually going to let you go as soon as we ascertained you weren’t a direct threat to us and…these earthlings.”

Alice cocked her head. “You aren’t from this world and yet you protect it.”

Loki offered a rye grin, “I know. It’s rather confusing. But if you like, I could explain it all in great detail if you would consider…staying?”

“Ha, you may be the hottest alien we’ve ever seen but do you seriously believe we would stay for you?”

Alice looked at Loki with scorn, “I completely agree. Do you honestly think you could keep us here?”

Loki looked confused. “Are you talking to someone?”

“Yup. I’m completely mental. I’m crazy, insane, and I’m going to leave now.” Spinning around, Alice notched an arrow and pointed it at the window, firing it just as Captain America, Iron Man, and the Black Widow came bursting into the room. The glass shattered, wind whipping into the room and causing brief chaos, enough for Alice to leap through the window. She spun around in the air, enough to glance back into the room and see Loki, hands in his pockets, lounging against the window frame, winking at her. 

Controlling the ferocious air around her was hard, considering the effects of Stark’s drug still in her system. She could feel her hold on the air slipping again and again. It whirled around her, trying to answer her call but at the same time, wildly trying to buck her off and smash her into the towering buildings around her. Alice smiled wryly. The wind and her had a tenuous relationship, which was made worse by her severely depleted power. 

“I already asked this, but where are we going? You have no idea what to do.”

“Look at you. Always doubting our abilities. We’ll find somewhere,” Alice grumbled. She eventually managed to land, but it was rough and her entire spine trembled from the shock of it. 

The voice turned dark in her head, “Don’t run away…fight them. Fight the pathetic human creatures that dared to attack and harm you. Kill them. Kill everyone of them and then we won’t have to hide.”

Alice could feel her blood rising, the wind whipping passed her, could feel her restless energy singing to her, promising to help her in quest for destruction. She looked down to see her hands trembling and starting to glow white hot. “Hhmmm, interesting proposal but…I think not.” Alice buried her hands into her pockets, shivering now that she had decided not to wipe out the city. Now everything was cold and she needed to move. 

It was a while later when Alice finally found an empty warehouse in which she could stay the night in peace. She had been running from Shield and Avengers all day and she could barely stand she was so exhausted. Climbing up some rickety stairs to the second level, she breathed out, watching her breath hang in the air. There was nothing but rotting wood, broken and abandoned furniture, and hard concrete walls. She went to lean against a wall and suddenly stopped, feeling decidedly different. Her mind exploded with light and she dropped to the floor in shock. Her mind was so…open. She could feel everything. Not just the life forms of every living creature near her but the earth, the wind, the rain falling just outside. It wrapped around her, soothing her maniac mind and welcoming her back. Alice soon realized whatever drug Stark had given her had finally worn off, and she was free. 

Sighing, Alice flicked her fingers. She could see the air around her respond instantly. Another small movement sent the small puddles of water on the floor into crystal orbs that floated in midair. The ever present beat of music in the back of her mind flowed outward, guiding her limbs as Alice reacquainted herself with the elements she had been held back from for so long. Her movements were graceful and wild and controlled all at the same time. So lost was she in her movements that she didn’t notice a figure that suddenly appeared in the shadows until the wind whispered in her ear, and she opened her eyes. Loki stood silently, his dark hair windswept and lightly damp. He held himself casually, his height towering over her own. 

“You’re…glowing.” Loki took a step forward, gently running his fingertips over her bare skin, leaving a stronger glow in its wake. “I came only to tell you that you have a part to play in all of this. You will confront the Avengers once again, and a great battle will occur, but on which side, it is hard to tell.”

“Why do you tell me of the future, Loki Odinson?” Alice asked, still vibrating with the elements around her.

“Because, “Loki whispered, “I would not have you lose hope. I sensed your rage, and came to tell you that peace will come.”

Alice breathed deeply, scenting Loki on the damp, dark air. She would survive, of that she was sure. “Thank you, “she inclined her head in respect and Loki vanished before she could anything else. Alice touched her arm where could still feel Loki’s fingers and whispered once more, “Thank you.”


	6. Revenge and an Accord

Disclaimer: I don’t own the Avengers. There would be a lot more interesting relationships in there if I did tho. Food for thought.

“When I said hold onto hope, I didn’t necessarily mean you should fight your hardest to destroy us all,” Loki gritted through clenched teeth as he fended off each blow Alice threw at him. 

When the whole team had showed up to stop Ultron from getting vibranium, they had been stopped in their tracks by the two enhanced they had met before and Alice, who was effectively taking apart their team. 

“Loki! Stop playing with your food and stop her. Any means necessary, “ordered Cap.

Loki rolled his eyes. Cap could be so melodramatic in a war zone. He stepped aside to narrowly avoid shards of ice and cocked his head. Then again, maybe not so dramatic. He summoned a copy of himself and tried to distract the mini tornado which was somehow Alice, the small woman who had been imprisoned in the Hulk prison for weeks. She seemed to have completely shaken off the drugs that Tony had dumped into her system and she was reveling in the freedom of her movement. He could relate. After Thanos had let him loose on Earth, he had tried his best to conquer it with his army of Chitari. He just had to get through to her somehow…

Alice didn’t take kindly to seeing the Avengers again and was able to wreak vengeance on each Avenger personally, leaving each one unconscious in her wake. Black Widow and Hawkeye were already down. Cap was currently trying to fight with his feet encased in ice and Iron Man had been incapacitated by the witch. Loki was always going to be the hardest. She approached him, fire already cupped in both palms, ready to throw. He merely glanced at her before she threw them and they went right through his body and he vanished. Another Loki came up behind her and she twisted, narrowly avoiding the long knife that had been aimed for her stomach. She backhanded him with a gust of wind and he was forced back a couple of steps before he leapt at her, teeth bared. She met his lunge with stone-covered fists but he countered with a blast from his magic that shattered the stone from her hands and left gouges in her forearms. Flipping over him, Alice tried to summon ice around him but he leapt up, barely avoiding the seeking ice. Loki’s green eyes were narrowed and he circled her slowly, his stance guarded. His foot slipped on the icy ground and Alice flew in, sending a wave of fire at his faltering figure. Loki threw up a shield a second too late, the fire catching on his clothes. He rolled quickly, using the dusty ground to douse the flames. Jumping up, he shielded again against the spears of ice, then the tornado of wind. Then the ground below his feet disappeared and he sunk into the earth up to his neck. Alice came up and knelt next to him. “Gotcha.”

\--

“Hey, she didn’t kill any of us, so that’s something. Means she isn’t completely bad, right?” Tony reasoned as they sat in the quinjet, speeding them towards Sokovia and Ultron’s latest disaster. 

“Tony is…correct. She could have easily taken our lives after she incapacitated us, which leads me to believe she only wanted to take revenge for us imprisoning her,” Loki said, grudgingly agreeing with Tony.

“It doesn’t matter if she didn’t kill us, she was able to take us all down, mostly because we didn’t believe she could really take us all at once. If any of us see her again, we shoot to kill.”

Loki sighed, letting his head thump against the headrest, “Honestly Cap, stop being so dramatic. We’ll see what the situation is down there and if Alice shows up. I can’t really see Alice following something like Ultron so blindly. She won’t agree with killing innocent civilians.”

“How about instead of sticking up for your girlfriend you go see what is happening in Sokovia in report back, “Cap snapped at him. 

Loki rose languidly. “Sometimes I feel like you just use me for my abilities Cap, and you don’t actually give a fuck about me.”

“Language,” Cap retorted.

Loki flipped him off, teleporting to Sokovia before Cap could lecture him further. 

\--

Sokovia was a hundred feet in the air before Loki finally saw Alice. Instead of fighting with the robots that had appeared in swarms, she had one in a headlock and was yelling furiously at it. Loki hid himself before he could be noticed when Ultron himself sped over to her and floated in the air a few feet from the ground.

“You called…?” Ultron said sarcastically. Loki was confused for a moment by the robot’s ability to even know what sarcasm was before he realized that Ultron was inherently Tony’s creation and anything invented by him must have picked up a little of his personality. 

Alice twisted the head off the robot she had in her arms and let the sparking thing drop to the ground. “You didn’t tell me you were planning on destroying the entire human race, I thought this was just a little revenge against the Avengers.”

Ultron was shaking his head before Alice was done talking, “You don’t get it yet. The problem is not only the Avengers. The problem with the world is every human that lives on it. Once they are eradicated, the earth will be healthy, able to support life that doesn’t actively try to harm it.”

“You are completely insane. But then again, what would I expect from one of Tony Stark’s inventions…” Loki winced, and wondered why Alice was intentionally goading a ten-foot tall robot that looked like it could tear her apart.

“Well if you really feel that way…” Ultron lunged and Alice danced away, quickly drawing on the elements but not quickly enough as metal fingers dug into her throat with such force she choked, unable to draw breath, and feeling her trachea crack under the pressure. “Loki. Loki? Come out, come out, wherever you are…” Ultron sing-songed. 

Loki wondered how Ultron could possibly know he was watching but didn’t dare appear. 

“That’s funny, I thought he cared a little more for you than to just leave you here to die by my hand, but I guess…” Ultron raised his arm to blast Alice through the middle when Loki made his decision and appeared before them.

“Now now, let us not be hasty.”

“Loki, I knew you would show up eventually.”

“And what caused you to come to such a conclusion?”

“I saw the way you both fought when I was retrieving the vibranium. Neither of you fought to truly kill each other.”

Loki kept his face blank, but it was hard to as he watched Alice’s face turn blue from oxygen deprivation. “How about we have this conversation while Alice is able to breathe? You don’t want your bargaining chip to die before you’ve had the chance to use it.”

Ultron threw back his metal head and laughed. “This filth is not a bargaining chip, it’s a distraction to get you out of the fight.” He dropped Alice who crumpled to the ground and shot her point blank with his repulsor. 

Alice screamed in pain as she was blasted backward, her stomach feeling like it was on fire. She laid on the ground, shuddering as fire coursed its way through her veins. Green eyes appeared in her vision as she struggled to stay awake. 

“Alice, Alice can you hear me.” She couldn’t understand what Loki was saying, just that he was talking expressively, until he slapped her across the face.

“Ow!”

Loki smiled weakly, “Gotcha.” His hands slid under the burnt remains of her shirt and gently rested on her stomach. Green magic surrounded her like a halo and Alice could feel her wound knitting itself together. Once the halo had dissipated she stood up gingerly, breathing through the sharp pain that still coursed through her.

“It’s not fully mended, but it’ll keep you from having to sit out of this fight.” Loki cautioned her, his hand hovering over her shoulder as if he was frightened she would fall over.

Alice glared at him, “I wouldn’t have stopped fighting regardless.”

Loki rolled his eyes. “At least you’re on the right side now.”

Alice started walking, ignoring him completely.

Loki was beside her in an instant, matching her jogging pace. “Perhaps we should keep close and…what is the human expression...’have eachother’s back?’”

“I’m not a damsel in distress. I don’t need to be protected. I don’t know you, so why would you want to fight with me?” It hurt to talk, her throat was almost completely destroyed from Ultron’s metal grip, and her voice was low and gravelly.

“I definitely do not believe you are a damsel in need of protection, I was merely wondering if we should team up on this floating piece of rock and try to stop a robot before he commits mass genocide and destroys this planet.”

Alice nodded. “Alright then.”


	7. Alice Saves the Avengers But Passes On Brunch

It was strange. Ultron was defeated. There was no big threat about to extinguish the world right now. The Avengers were only called when Doom and his robots ran rampantly around the city, or if another b-list villain was trying to climb its way into the big leagues. 

The winter soldier had found his way to the Avengers tower and Tony had immediately started putting his BARF technology to use. Unbrainwashing someone who had been in and out of cryo for several years was quite a challenge but Tony insisted that Hydra brainwashing was no match for his superior technology. Loki had no idea what was normal for the man but Steve insisted that after each session with BARF, Bucky was becoming more and more like the friend he used to have. But even if Tony’s technology was breaking through the Winter Soldier’s code words, it didn’t stop the relentless dreams that plagued Bucky night and day. Tony had realized early on that the dreams were actually flashbacks to what Bucky had done as the Winter Soldier. After this realization, Bucky had been assigned a therapist as well and saw her five times a week. 

Loki didn’t sleep much. He didn’t need too. He was a Jotun and a sorcerer. The only times he felt like he had to sleep was after he fought, or used a significant amount of magical energy. His nighttime wanderings led to his first official meeting of Bucky. Of course, Loki would never call someone by a nickname and insisted calling him James. 

It was well past midnight and Loki was in the kitchen, making himself a cup of tea in preparation for the new spell he was about to create. Ever since Loki had been forced to try coffee, courtesy of Stark, he had been trying to stick to tea, having called coffee unsuitable for a god. But as he dropped a tea bag into hot water, he eyed the coffee maker that was sleek and shiny and procured the best espresso he had ever tasted only at the skilled hands of Tony. Blowing slightly on his brew, Loki wondered if he could save Tony’s life so he would be indebted to him and therefore forced to make him espresso whenever he desired it. Movement caught the corner of his eye before he could ruminate much further and he spun, a dagger already clenched in his left hand. It was James. Loki relaxed, but only slightly. A life of lying, stealing, betraying, and fighting had left him unable to really trust anyone. 

James held up his hands, showing he was unarmed, at least as far as Loki could see, and whispered, “Sorry for startling you.” He practically glided past Loki, his feet making no noise on the hardwood floors, and opened the refrigerator. 

Loki shrugged and sat on one of the barstools. He tasted his tea, jerking back a little when the hot water scalded his tongue and allowed his asgardian guise to slip, his hand turned blue and frost crept up his mug, sufficiently cooling it off enough to drink. Loki glanced up and saw James staring at his hand that had turned back to a more normal skin color. Without a word, he held up a glass full of an amber liquid. Raising an eyebrow, Loki reached out and let his Jotun magic glaze the glass, almost freezing the beverage. 

James tasted it and smiled, “Thanks Loki. Apple juice is really only good when its super cold.”

Loki huffed and drank some of his tea, trying to cover a grin at the idea of a super-serum, Hydra-trained assassin preferring his apple juice chilled. “I hardly recognized you without your shadow.” 

James looked confused for a moment before he understood what Loki meant. “Steve is just a little over protective after so long apart.”

“Does he know that you are not the same man you were eighty years ago?”

James turned, his face cast into shadow, his shoulders hunched, “He hopes this is temporary.”

Loki sat silently for a moment before remembering he had things to do, a spell to create, no time to be sentimental to a damaged assassin who didn’t know who he was. Except, he had gone through much of the same experiences as James, and somehow he felt he was supposed to help him. Shaking off the feeling, Loki stood passing James’ hunched form and saying, “I would tell Steve who you are, instead of letting him mold you into who he wants you to be.”

\--

It was strange. Sure, it was kind of weird that the Avengers weren’t fighting huge armies intent on destroying humanity, but it was actually really strange that Alice had dropped off the map right after they had sort of saved Sokovia, and no one had seen her. Until she appeared in New York to help the team fight a couple of giant alien slug-like creatures that were ravaging Central Park. And then again at the Avengers tower a couple weeks later to destroy a whole legion of doombots. 

It was an unspoken rule among the Avengers now that no one would mention her presence, or try to figure out how she showed up when one of the Avengers was about to get hurt, or actively try to see where she went after she fought with them. This rule didn’t extend to Director Fury who shouted furiously at all of them every time Alice got away. 

The team didn’t know why they were letting Alice go, or at least, that’s what they told themselves. But then another battle would come, and they found themselves waiting for her to show up. And then a telltale dramatic entrance accompanied with music would be made and they would breathe sighs of relief. Battles were much easier to fight with someone who could control all four elements on their side.

Every time Alice turned up in the middle of a fight, she would either gravitate towards Loki’s side, or he would appear at hers. And at the end, when they stood among the remains of whatever had been destroyed, Loki would look her up and down, searching for injuries, and she would return the gesture. 

Only once did Tony mention how odd it was that Loki and Alice were always together during a fight. Clint and Natasha immediately joined his teasing, and Loki said nothing, besides grimacing in their direction. Thor had discouraged his teammates from mentioning Alice again in front of Loki. He had watched his brother very carefully and knew far more than he was letting on.

All discussions of capturing Alice stopped after the battle against the angry, radioactive, and too-large-for-comfort centipedes. The alarm sounded at three in the morning. The Avengers were out of their beds, in their armor, and had strapped on various weapons before they even knew where they were going. Upon reaching the carnage, Captain America had immediately started shouting orders, the team spreading out to contain the damage, and learning that radioactive centipedes only got angry when hit with repulsor blasts, hammers, lightning, vibranium shields, and bullets. Hawkeye, however, shot two explosive arrows right into one of the centipede’s eyes, causing its head to explode, and its’ massive body to twist and shudder, hundreds of long, white, grotesque legs flailing everywhere. The shockwave from the centipede’s body hitting the ground was enough to knock everyone down. But with the thirty-foot long body thrashing, it was hard not to be crushed by its weight. Hawkeye had been too close, Widow was running towards him, knowing she would be too late, the Captain was trapped under a collapsed concrete wall, Bucky had already been hit by the legs, Iron Man and Thor were trying to keep the other centipede from destroying the city, and Loki had just materialized next to James to get him out of danger. 

Suddenly the centipede froze in it’s death throes, ice forming a solid shell along the entire body. Frost covered the ground and the air was suddenly freezing cold, everyone’s breath hovering in front of them like little clouds. The other giant centipede let out a piercing shriek as it suddenly sank in the earth halfway, then burst into flames that had appeared. Then Loki spotted a figure on the nearest rooftop, her long arms raised in front of her, controlling the flames that rose ever higher the more the centipede shrieked. After a minute, the charred corpse of the centipede hit the ground and disintegrated into blackened pieces. Iron Man landed, and lifted the wall off of Steve with Thor, Loki picked up James, and Nat hauled Clint away from the giant shell of ice. They all collapsed into a heap until Alice drifted over, using air currents to descend to the ground. Up close, she didn’t look any better than them, and instead of drawing their weapons, Tony strode over, flipped up his faceplate, and offered his hand to her. Alice stared at it, the white of her eyes brilliant against her soot-streaked face. Then she reached out and shook his hand. 

“Are you guys alright?”

Thor clapped a hand on her shoulder, making her knees buckle, “We’re much better than we would’ve been, thanks to your help Lady Alice.”

Loki stood too, once he had made sure James was simply unconscious. Stepping over the debris he laid a much gentler hand on her other shoulder, asking, “Are you okay?”

Red-rimmed eyes turned to look at him. “Fine,” she said unconvincingly. 

“I know you’re probably tired but would you mind…” Tony trailed off, pointing towards the dead centipede that was still half buried in the ground. 

“Oh sure.” Alice turned, her shoulders firm and straight, and stomped hard on the ground, thrusting upward with her hands, elbows jutting out. The centipede was pushed out of the earth, and the ground smoothed itself into a level plane once again.

“Landscapers everywhere thank you,” Tony said. “Now, do you want to join us for a meal? You look like you could use it. We usually have a huge take out dinner after a fight but seeing on how its five in the morning, that means we’re having the greatest breakfast of all time.” 

Clint and James chose this moment to wake up, and Clint groaned, “I want brunch.”

“Fine. The greatest brunch of all time.”

Alice backed away, Loki’s hand slipping off of her shoulder as she edged towards the closest exit. “I’m fine. You guys…enjoy your brunch.” She turned and jogged down the nearest street, disappearing quickly despite Tony and Thor calling her back. 

While they waited for the quinjet to come and pick them up, James asked, “Do you think she was scared of us?”

“If she was scared she wouldn’t have saved my life,” Clint stated.

“Maybe she thought she would be locked up again if she came back to the tower,” Loki said.

“Indeed. We must gain her trust if we ever want to become friends with her.” Thor eyed his brother and Loki gazed back suspiciously, wondering if Thor knew about his feelings for the elementalist.


	8. What Are Plums?

Tony and Loki were similar, no matter how much they tried to deny it. Both worked hard, so hard that they often lost track of time and forgot to eat and sleep. Tony had suggested that Loki should come and do his experimental spell work down in the lab since there were plenty of fire extinguishers readily assessable. This caused both men into close proximity of each other, and before they knew it, they were talking to one another about their projects and interests. It took quite a while before they started revealing certain parts of their pasts but after almost of year of working together, Loki and Tony knew more about each other and were closer than all of the other Avengers. Therefore, when Tony sensed something was wrong with Loki, he immediately set out to figure out what was going on. 

Loki was in the lab, curled up on the ratty couch, engrossed in an ancient textbook filled with alien runes and symbols. Tony poked his head around the corner, assessing the situation and before he could talk Loki spoke without looking up.

“Your heavy midgardian breathing is annoying me Stark. What do you want?”

Tony came around the corner and rested casually against it, hands in his pockets. “Well hey there my precious frosty blue buttercup, I was just wondering if you would like to go to that farmer’s market we saw the other day. It is Saturday morning. And it’s super nice outside…” he trailed off and Loki eyed him suspiciously. 

“You want to go to a farmer’s market?”

Tony threw his hands up in the air, “do I look like I can’t appreciate fresh produce and local arts? For your information, I do appreciate all these things. And I happen to know a certain someone that loves them so much he drags me to everyone that he encounters, now are you in or not?”

Loki closed his book, laying it down on the cushion next to him. “I feel like you may have ulterior motives.”

Tony was the picture of innocence. “Look at this face. Does this face look like it has ulterior motives?”

“Yes.”

“Well that’s just the way my face looks, don’t discriminate. Now let’s go already my chilly blue icicle, before the tourists buy all the little trinkets you for some reason adore.”

Loki stood with a huff, a shadow of a grin on his lips, “chilly blue icicle?” he murmured under his breath as Tony called one of the suits to him and held out his armor-clad arms. 

“Want a ride?”

“You know I hate doing that, it’s humiliating.”

“Not for me.”

Loki rolled his eyes. “Just tell me where we’re going, I’ll teleport myself there.”

\--

Loki materialized shortly before Tony came flying in, landing right beside him. He walked out of the suit, making it follow them as they walked. Most of the locals paid them no attention, since the Avengers were old news at this point, but there were a couple tourists who stared wide-eyed at Tony and a few came up to him and asked for a picture. Loki walked on, stopping at each vendor to survey their wares until Tony jogged up to him. 

“Finally finished with your fans?”

“I just think you’re jealous because no one wants to take a selfie with you.”

Loki laughed, “Nothing could be further from the truth.”

Tony smiled, “There it is, you haven’t laughed in a while…which is kinda why I asked you to come here. Wanted to know what’s going on with you.”

Loki sighed. “I knew that was your ulterior motive face.” He walked on, eyeing the fresh lettuce, tomatoes, watermelon, and cucumbers that a vendor was selling.

“I mean you don’t have to tell me, but I figured as a friend I would at least ask. It’s what you would do, actually it’s what you have done in the past.”

“It’s nothing Stark.”

Tony grabbed his elbow. “So we’re at last names now? Come on, spill it. What has you so hot and bothered?”

Loki yanked his arm from Tony’s grasp. “I thought a genius like yourself would have it all figured out by now.”

Tony’s eyes widened, “Would it perhaps have anything to do with a certain element-controlling mutant intent on hiding herself away unless certain members of an elite taskforce of superheroes are in danger?”

Loki stared up into the heavens, willing Tony to stop talking. “Maybe.” He braced himself for more of Tony’s drabble when he noticed the man had gone strangely quiet and instantly looked around, tensing in anticipation.

“Hey, don’t freak out, but I’ve just spotted someone we know,” Tony murmured. He jerked his head to the left and Loki spotted her. She was a few stalls over, looking covetously at a small mountain of plums. 

“Stark, wait, “Loki pulled the man back, and the two watched Alice for a minute.

“Is she…?”

“I believe she is…” Loki whispered back. 

“But why?”

“Good question.”

“I think I should go intervene.”

“Are you sure about that?”

Tony didn’t answer, preferring to act without Loki’s approval, and walked quickly over to Alice. Loki rolled his eyes at Tony’s actions before following in his wake. 

Tony caught Alice’s arm, just as she was about to steal a plum, and pulled her away from the fruit stand. She whirled around, wrenching her arm from his grasp, and crouching slightly, her eyes panicked. 

“Hey now, calm down, didn’t anyone ever tell you its bad to steal?” Tony’s voice was light-hearted, trying to put Alice at ease.

“What do you want?” Alice asked, her eyes flickering between Tony and Loki, her stance still defensive. 

“To be honest, we were wondering why you were trying to steal plums.” 

Loki sighed. “So tactful Stark.”

Alice looked confused. “What are plums?”

There was an awkward silence, filled with Tony gazing wonderingly at Alice, while Loki looked between Alice and the plums, his brow furrowed. He pointed at the plums and said, “Those are plums. The fruit that you were trying to steal.”

“Oh. I didn’t know what they were called. I’ve never had one before.”

“Is that why you were stealing?”

Alice shrugged, half turning away. “I was just hungry.”

Tony’s eyes widened and he stepped on Loki’s foot. Loki shot him a glare but Tony tilted his head in Alice’s direction and Loki sighed again. “Sure Tony, but only if she says yes. No pressuring.”

Alice moved further away, as if she was trying to melt into nonexistent shadow. 

Tony grinned at Alice, trying to appear disarming. “How about I buy you a plum. Or like a bag full, and then you come over to my tower and we run some scans. And feed you some real food. And get you in some warmer clothes. And have you take a shower. All of the good stuff.”

Loki reached out in a flash and caught Alice before she could make a run for it. “Alice, we’re not going to hurt you like Hydra did, I promise you.”

Alice struggled in his grip but Loki’s hand was like a vice on her forearm. A couple of people walking by stopped and stared and the vendors around them tried to protect their food from a possible fight. 

“You are the god of lies. Why would I ever believe anything you say?”

Loki’s face was a mask devoid of any emotion but his voice was soft, “Don’t forget that I saved you after Ultron nearly killed you.”

Tony clapped his hands. “Well that’s settled. Here, let’s get you some plums.” Tony quickly procured the promised plums and then, with Alice between Loki and Tony, they walked leisurely back to the tower. 

\--

Tony alerted Jarvis that he and Loki were bringing Alice in, and were therefore able to get to Tony’s lab without the other Avengers being alerted to her presence. 

Alice sat up on a metal table, her hair almost completely covering her face, her arms trembling slightly as she looked around constantly. “What kind of scans are you going to run on me?”

“Just a lot of the basics, we’ll get a feel for your powers and the toll they take on your body, along with any health problems or old injuries, they’ll all show up and then we can go from there.” 

Tony darted around his lab, getting equipment ready and Loki strolled up to Alice, squeezing her hand gently in his cold one, “It is going to be alright.” Alice said nothing but Loki was surprised when she squeezed his hand tight and didn’t let it go. When Tony came back to the table he didn’t comment on their entwined hands, but he did send Loki a very suggestive smirk. 

“Alright, just lay down, relax, and you shouldn’t feel a thing.” Tony pulled up a holographic screen as the scan started, monitoring her results as they came up. There was a small beep when the scan was complete and Tony’s intake of breath caused Loki to look over at him.

“Uh, Reindeer Games, you might want to take a look at this…”

Loki gently slid his hand from Alice’s death grip and looked at the scan results. “Oh…” he breathed.

“Yes. Oh. We definitely have a problem here. And Fury is not going to like this one bit,” Tony stated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments and kudos are always appreciated :)  
> your thoughts and feelings always inspire me :)


	9. Alien or Mutant?

Alice sat up in alarm, jumping down from the table, about to bolt to the nearest exit, when Loki and Tony intercepted her. 

“Now, now, let us not act rashly. Let’s use our words, instead of running off to god knows where, let’s just think this through.” Tony guided Alice down into a nearby chair, eyeing Loki who stood right next to her in anticipation for her next flight. “We were just a little surprised by your scan results, nothing to be afraid of.”

Alice relaxed slightly and Loki gave Tony a thumbs up. “Are you going to tell me the results or are you just going to try to reassure me until you take me captive again.”

Loki’s green eyes flashed when she mentioned her captivity. “That will never happen again. It was a terrible mistake.”

“Absolutely, Steve was worried the entire time that you would try to kill us, but you never looked like a killer to me…maybe a little unhinged, but not a killer,” Tony agreed. 

“Tony. Stop stalling. What does my scan say?”

Tony clapped his hands, “Yes! So your scan showed that you definitely are malnourished. Hard core. You need to eat something every once in a while. And sleep. Sleeping is really really good for you, you know.”

Loki rolled his eyes, “You’re one to talk. Maybe you should take your own advice sometime.”

Alice gritted her teeth. “What else does it say.”

“Yah Stark, what does it say? I think we’d all like to know.”

Tony, Loki, and Alice swung around to face the front of the lab and saw Fury stepping through the door, the rest of the Avengers right behind him.

“Jarvis? Jarvis? Breach buddy. You need to tell me when Mr. Big Bad is here with backup. Jarvis?” Tony frowned. “What did you do to my precious little boi? Fury, goddammit, if you messed with him…” 

“Don’t worry Stark, he’s just muted within the confines of the lab.”

Tony’s eyes bulged as he hurriedly pulled a holographic screen into existence and gestured wildly at it. 

“Thank you, sir,” came the disembodied voice from the ceiling.

“No problem J.”

Alice rose out of the chair smoothly, sidling her way to the nearest exit with all the grace of Black Widow. “I think it’s time for me to not be here anymore.”

Fury stepped forward threateningly. “Absolutely not. Captain Rogers secure the prisoner. She is not leaving here unless she is secured and in the confines of a mutant-transferring vehicle.”

“Sir, there has been another breach and—“ Shield agents came running out of the nearest exits, forming a perimeter. 

“Jarv, you were a little late on that buddy, but thanks anyway.”

“Tony, it might be best to just hand Alice over, before this gets messy,” Steve said.

“After everything she has done to help us? Why the hell would I do that Rogers?” Tony growled.

The nearest shield agent to Alice tried to make a grab for her and she side-stepped him, thrusting her hands out and sending a whirlwind of air in his direction, causing the unfortunate man to slam into the nearest wall with enough force to knock him out. The room exploded into action, the agents rushing at Alice while Fury barked orders at them, and half of the Avengers rushing across the room to join the fight. It was just going to turn into a battle when Alice ducked behind Loki, and suddenly there were at least ten Loki’s surrounding them, all smiling evilly and brandishing knives at the incoming agents. Then Tony called his suit and hovered over the little group, repulsors pointed firmly at Fury. But what really stopped the rush to capture Alice was Bucky, who had remained unnoticed until he sidled over to the Lokis, a gun clasped loosely in his metal hand. 

Everyone froze. 

Because everyone knew that if they somehow harmed Bucky, they had to answer to Captain America.

Surprisingly, Fury was the first one to break the tense silence. “Okay Stark. Please tell me why we cannot arrest this public menace. You have one minute.”

Tony landed and stepped out of the suit. “Well first off she’s really great, you just have to see past the whole PTSD/I’m-going-to-kill-everyone-that-touches-me vibe that she has. And also, she’s technically not able to be arrested by you because she’s out of your jurisdiction.”

Fury’s face was impassive. “Everyone is in my jurisdiction.”

“Actually, director, we agreed after the I was sent to Earth to be reformed, Thor and I would handle off-world beings since we know a lot more about them than you do.” Loki spoke up, his defensive position in front of Alice unchanging.

Fury sighed. “Yes, aliens are not technically in my jurisdiction but mutants are, and that’s what Alice is.”

Tony raised a finger, “Nay captain my captain. That’s what the whole scan thing was about that I was going to explain until you tried to start world war III all of a sudden. I have her entire work up right here. She is definitely non-human, but Loki said that if he had more time to study her, he could probably place where she’s from.”

“Why can’t we just ask her?” Fury looked more angry than he had before, if that was possible.

“She has no memory of anything before Hydra,” Tony stated.

“That’s very convenient. And it changes nothing. I might not be able to imprison her fulltime but she still can’t go roaming about the city causing damage. Loki was confined to the tower for at least six months before he was able to start helping the Avengers as part of his reformed program.”

“Alright, we’ll work something out that everyone can agree with, and we’ll send you daily updates. Good? Okay then, get the fuck out of my lab and my tower and don’t come here again unless you ask permission.” Tony waved a hand in a shooing motion.

“No Stark, this goes beyond you. I want this alien locked up every night. I’m going to station an agent here every night and if he doesn’t report in that she is confined throughout the night, there’s going to be hell to pay, damn the jurisdiction.”

Stark stalked up to Fury through his agents until he was almost nose to nose with the director. “I said we’ll talk about it. We’ll reach an agreement. In the meantime. Get the fuck out.”


End file.
